Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Best Videos to Appear on the Razor: #7

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

In case you missed it...

Here was John Oliver's take last weekend on… well, all the stuff I care about. It was fascinating to work with them on this, and I am glad that they included my client Weldon Angelos (and used the George H.W. Bush with crack clip I love so much):

Sunday, July 26, 2015

Sunday Reflection: Dream Job

"Dream job" was the topic for haiku Friday, and the idea has been in my mind the past few days. The truth is that I have my dream job-- a vocation so fulfilling that I couldn't have imagined it when I was a student at law school.

In short, I get to teach smart students, write about things I care about, and try to change the world in those ways compelled by my faith. I am constantly in contact with brilliant people, some of whom agree with me, and others who don't. Every day, I am in contact with one collaborator or another, and that is one of the great joys of my life.

When I was interviewing at law firms back when I was in law school, I pondered long and hard the question of how to find out the truth about work conditions at a particular big law firm. After all, an associate or partner was not going to tell someone being recruited the whole truth, at least not in any clear or obvious way. Their job was to accentuate the positive. I developed a technique that seemed to really work: When I was interviewing, I asked the lawyer I was talking to what they would do if they didn't have this job. Some people perked up and described wholly-formed schemes to be a store owner or a comedian or a screenwriter or a professional sailor. They had an escape fantasy. The (fewer) people, genuinely happy as a lawyer at a big firm, had to think about it for a while-- they didn't spend their time imagining a different existence.

Saturday, July 25, 2015

Now up on HuffPo…

Friday, July 24, 2015

Haiku Friday: Dream Job!

Hi, Razor friends! I am pretty happy that I have had a number of dream jobs-- including my current one. When I was a kid, I thought a dream job might be driving a cookie truck, and I still think it sounds pretty appealing.

Let's haiku about dream jobs, present, past, or future. You can write about a childhood dream, or the one you have now.

Here, I will go first:

I'd be a bad king
Or sous chef or male model
I got lucky, huh?

Now it is your turn! Just make it 5/7/5 on the syllable count and have some fun!

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Political Mayhem Thursday: Trump the Frontrunner

Something very strange has happened in the presidential race, even as an intriguing candidate (John Kasich) entered the race: Pretty much everyone seems obsessed with Donald Trump. This is probably not a good thing for America, but people seem unable to look away.

If we discuss Trump, as I’ve done in severalcolumns,
we reward his bad and transcendently self-serving behavior, no matter
how negative our assessments of him or how many larger truths we engage.

If we don’t discuss him, we ignore something real, in a fashion that’s irresponsible.

By
something real, I mean the fact that Trump has measurable support, at
least for now. In a nationwide ABC News/Washington Post poll
of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents that was released
Monday, he was in the lead for the party’s presidential nomination, the
favorite of 24 percent of respondents. The next closest contenders were
Scott Walker (13 percent) and Jeb Bush (12).

I have three general thoughts about what is happening (all of which have been articulated by others in various ways):

1) Yeah, this is terrible for Republicans, because they present a fascinating diversity of candidates, and none of them are being heard. What a campaign craves is media attention, but the air has been sucked out of the room by the Trump phenomena.

2) It's not that great for Democrats, either. If Hillary Clinton is to build support now, she needs to be seen. Trump distracts from her, and she has hurt herself by running a stilted, conservative campaign that seems terrified of allowing the candidate to truly be seen. The Trump effect and Clinton's carefulness have created an opening for Bernie Sanders, the candidate on the Democratic side who has been the most surprising thus far.

3) I'm not so sure that support for Trump will evaporate immediately, as some think. The truth is that his brash anger appeals to a substantial plurality of Republicans-- the Tea Party folks who are mad as hell, don't trust establishment candidates, and didn't like John McCain anyways. The reason that some of the Republican candidates haven't strongly condemned Trump is that they realize this. Going forward, of course, those activists will face the usual disillusionment as the establishment chooses a moderate candidate like Jeb Bush.

4) It will be really depressing to me to watch Hillary Clinton run against Jeb Bush, as both are so carefully managed, handled, and cabined. Now, Bernie Sanders v. Donald Trump… yowsa! But then the election is over and there would be the prospect of "President Trump."

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Oh, Sepp!

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Expand the Big 12?

As pretty much everyone expected, re-alignment of college football conferences has not finished, even after a raft of moves, including the following:

Nebraska from the Big 12 to the Big 10
Missouri and Texas A & M from the Big 12 to the SEC
Rutgers from the Big East to the Big 10
Maryland from the ACC to the Big 10
Colorado from the Big 12 to the PAC-12
West Virginia and TCU into the Big 12

Now the Big 12 finds itself as the smallest of the major conferences, with only 10 teams-- not enough to split into divisions and host a championship game. Estimable Kansas State Coach Bill Snyder recently weighed in to support expanding the league by two more teams. At least then, the name would fit!

Because the members of the "Power 5" conferences are locked in by TV contracts, newcomers to the Big 12 would probably have to come from the pool of schools outside of those conferences. Here are the teams that might be considered for such a move:

BYU
Cincinnati
Boise State
UConn
Univ. of Houston
Memphis
University of Southern Florida
University of Central Florida

To my mind, only one of those schools has the combination of size, athletic ability, and academic reputation to fit into a league like the Big 12-- BYU. But, adding just one school doesn't help much. What should the other addition be?

Monday, July 20, 2015

IPLawGuy rules!

Crikeys! IPLG just was on a roll last week. The subject was ice cream. Check out all of his entries, but my favorite was this one:

My Mom still recallsClinton, Iowa childhoodA & W.Then there was this one, based on a true story (he needed to have at least one hand on the wheel:Marfa Dairy QueenOsler would not let me drivewhile eating Blizzard.
Renee was drawn back in by IPLG's fine work, I think:

She herself is aPeach,this bud,this seedling child. Tastes,wants another

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Sunday Reflection: The Futility of "Your religion is wrong!"

Yesterday I was walking down Michigan Avenue near the Water Tower, and saw an older man sitting on a lawn chair handing out religious tracts. I reached out for one (I love reading religious tracts), and for some reason he snatched back the one he had been proffering to the crowd and instead handed me another. Titled, "The Pilgrimage," the pamphlet was produced by Battle-Axe Ministry of Gary, Indiana in 1999.

"The Pilgrimage" centers on one Dr. Abdul Ali, an older Muslim man who is shown returning from Mecca. He has completed his tenth Hajj, and has paid for several young men to make the journey with him. His wife waits for him at the airport, proud of his generous support of his faith and the less affluent men he has helped.

As his wife watches in horror from the terminal, the plane crashes nose-first into the runway (a disaster blamed on a failed landing gear, which seems a little odd). 247 people die, including Dr. Ali.

Next thing we know, Dr. Ali is shown meeting an angel, who takes him to visit with Jesus. Jesus informs Dr. Ali that not only is he not going to heaven, but Muhammed is not their, either. Jesus then closes the deal by informing Dr. Ali that "Allah is a satanic counterfeit." When Dr. Ali protests that he "was a very sincere Muslim," Jesus tells him that "you were sincerely wrong."

I can't believe that this is an effective way to reach out to Muslims, even if your goal is to convert them. It's not only offensive, it's just bad evangelism.

It reflects a theology that is alien to me, too-- one that disclaims good works by people of faith, asserting that faith alone is enough to get to heaven. (Obviously, Dr. Ali's good works were the ones being diminished here, but the quotations-- i.e., to Ephesians 2:8-9-- make it clear that this tenet is important to Battle-Axe Ministry. This claim is important to a large swath of Christians who argue against the importance of good works in the present day and attack the social gospel and the idea of social justice.

Jesus directed us to do good works, unambiguously: To feed the poor, to heal the sick, and to visit those in prison. More directly, we have him instructing a virtuous young man who comes to him and specifically asks what he must do to get to heaven. The answer, famously, is that the rich man must sell what he has and give it to the poor. He must do a good work, and be generous. Does it get clearer than that?

Jesus gave us two great commandments: To love God, and to love our neighbor. Neither commandment can be fulfilled without action. If you doubt that, consider what Christ taught when he was asked "who is my neighbor-- the one we must love?" Jesus answers that with the parable of the Good Samaritan, which reveals two things. First, that our neighbor may be those we revile or distrust. Second, that love requires action, as the Good Samaritan's love wasn't good thoughts-- it was saving the wounded traveler.

Saturday, July 18, 2015

The Beer/Hair dilemma

IPLawGuy recently took this photo, showing a classic beer/hair issue. What do you think someone in IPLawGuy's position (I'm assuming that is his beer and right foot, judging by the Franksteinish nature of the foot) should do?

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Political Mayhem Thursday: The Deal with Iran

A deal got done, between several nations and Iran, to limit Iran's nuclear capabilities. The best explanation of the deal was in the New York Times yesterday.

Politically, here is what happens next: The Congress can vote to approve it, disapprove it, or take no position. If they disapprove it, President Obama can veto that legislation, meaning it can only be over-ridden by a supermajority 2/3ds vote.

My initial inclination is to embrace this agreement. A negotiated outcome is the best of three possible choices, the others being to do nothing or take pre-emptive military action.

Doing nothing is to simply forfeit our influence and allow Iran to continue towards development of nuclear weapons.

Taking military action would likely lead to disaster and another lengthy foreign war.

The Big Announcement!!!!!

The CRC will exist for one year, with the sole purpose of preparing and submitting federal clemency petitions at no cost to prisoners. Beginning with a staff of seven attorneys, the CRC will work closely with Clemency Project 2014, an ongoing initiative designed to identify and find counsel for worthy clemency candidates, and will provide pro bono assistance to federal prisoners who likely would have received shorter sentences had they been sentenced today.

The CRC was co-founded by Rachel Barkow, Segal Family Professor of Regulatory Law and Policy at NYU Law, andMark Osler, who holds the Robert and Marion Short Distinguished Chair in Law at the University of St. Thomas. Erin Collins, a former public defender and acting assistant professor at NYU Law, serves as executive director. Generously funded by Open Society Foundations, the CRC will begin work in August.

The CRC is unique in that it addresses an immediate short-term opportunity. President Obama has clearly signaled his intent to use the constitutional tool of clemency to address over-incarceration.

Clemency Project 2014 aims to identify all federal inmates who seek help and meet criteria released by the US Department of Justice. The project relies entirely on the help of pro bono attorneys to review and submit petitions. “Too many non-violent prisoners are serving unduly harsh prison terms based on repudiated laws and policies. That means we have quite a bit of work ahead,” said Cynthia Roseberry, project manager for Clemency Project 2014. “This is an all-hands-on-deck situation and we welcome the support of the Clemency Resource Center.”

“The CRC isn’t a clinic, or a conventional legal aid organization, or an advocacy group. It is a factory of justice,” said Osler, a former federal prosecutor.

CACL has worked on clemency cases and reform of the pardon process since 2013 as part of the Mercy Project, an initiative that pursues commutations for federal prisoners who are serving very long sentences for typically non-violent drug crimes.

“The Clemency Resource Center is the latest step in our efforts to improve criminal justice in the United States and to help correct past miscarriages of justice,” said Barkow, faculty director for CACL.

During its year of operation, the CRC will utilize the talents of CACL student fellows as well as of CACL executive director Deborah Gramiccioni, a former federal prosecutor in New Jersey and at the US Department of Justice in Washington, DC.

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Sunday Reflection: Night

This week, I was in New York for work (more on that in a few days-- a big announcement!). I was working in Manhattan and staying in Brooklyn. I traveled back and forth on the F train.

I like to have something to read on the train, so I stopped into a beautiful little bookstore called Terrace Books. For three dollars I bought a used copy of Elie Wiesel's Night, a memoir of his time in Nazi concentration camps. I had read the book before, when I found it in a "free book" box in the Baylor philosophy department, and decided to read it again.

Of course, it is not an easy book. "Unbearably painful" was part of a blurb on the back, and the cover blurb described the "terrifying power" of the story within.

On the train, I found myself sitting next to a Hasidic man who was also reading. Next to him was an Indian woman reading a book, and next to her was an elderly Chinese man reading a book. The train wends through Brooklyn's neighborhood-- Coney Island, Gravesend, Bensonhurst, Midwood, Borough Park, Kensington, Windsor Terrace, Park Slope, Gowanus, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, and DUMBO-- so the train carried a remarkable variety of people. Just as remarkable was that it seems to be a last vestige of book-reading in the US. Sure, a lot of people were staring at their phone, but the lack of service seems to have driven others to the old-school ways.

Wiesel was 15 when the Hungarians turned over half a million Jews to the German machinery of death. He traveled through several concentration and extermination camps with his father, only to have his father die after months of torment. The horrors he witnessed are nearly unspeakable, but it is important and remarkable that he spoke them.

In the course of the book, Wiesel sees the worst of humanity, and it leads him away from the God that had been at the center of his life: "But now, I no longer pleaded for anything. I was no longer able to
lament. On the contrary, I felt very strong. I was the accuser, God the
accused. My eyes had opened and I was alone, terribly alone in a world
without God, without man. Without love or mercy."

Many have read Night, but fewer know that the autobiographical book (Wiesel calls it his "deposition") is the first in a trilogy. The second book, Dawn, is a novel which carries the story in a fictional direction during and after the holocaust. The third book, Day, is also a fictional account of the same person, who is now in New York City and is hit by a cab. It is an odd trajectory, to go from truth in such a grounded, horrifying way, on to imagined, later outcomes. Or maybe it isn't. Don't we all do that, at times? We process the worst things by imagining not a remaking of the core event, but ourselves. It is a way of survival, of coming out to meaning. We cannot deny that there was a Holocaust, but we sometimes imagine ways we could transcend the horrors that people-- even ourselves-- can do. It is a way of finding hope. When I arrived in Manhattan, I set to my work with greater focus.

As I finished a particularly grueling passage of the book, I wanted to turn to the Hasidic man next to me and hear his thoughts. He was two inches away, his tall black hat inclined towards his own book. How could his book about God co-exist with this one? He had a way. But I did not ask.

Here in Minnesota, the lakes are sparkling, and throngs of people will soon be flying around them on bikes. The rains have brought everything to a brilliant green, and there is a faint scent of smoke from barbecues over the lawns. How do these go together under one God?

Saturday, July 11, 2015

Great news from a newly emboldened president...

On Thursday of next week, President Obama is going to visit the federal prison in El Reno, Oklahoma, according to Politico:

President Barack Obama will become the first sitting chief executive
to visit a federal prison when he goes to El Reno, Oklahoma, next week
to meet with law enforcement officials and inmates as part of the
administration’s push for criminal-justice reform.

“Next
week, the president will underscore the administration’s focus on the
need to reform and improve America’s criminal justice system,” White
House press secretary Josh Earnest said during Friday’s news briefing.

Thursday, July 09, 2015

Political Mayhem Thursday: Er, what about that debt?

It seems that when the economy is down, we worry about the national debt, but when it is doing better we forget about it. Of course, a good economy also increases tax receipts, which makes people more hopeful about solving the debt problem. Still, it remains a structural issue that needs to be addressed by higher taxes, less government spending, or some combination thereof. We aren't Greece… but we don't want to be in that position, ever.

In listening to the candidates, here is what I hear them talking about:

Democrats: Income inequality.
Republicans: Immigration, Obamacare, less government interference with people and individuals.

Admittedly, doing health care better and shrinking government in some specific way might affect the debt, but I don't see specifics that are tied to hitting that goal.

Wednesday, July 08, 2015

James Dunn, who told me what to do (and was right)

In Winston-Salem,
James Dunn will be remembered for the generosity, extensive knowledge
and unwavering convictions on display during his 16 years as an adjunct
professor of Christianity and public policy at the Wake Forest
University School of Divinity.That was just his retirement, though.

By the time Dunn moved to
Winston-Salem in 1999 to teach at Wake Forest, he had already made a
name for himself nationally as one of the leading voice among American
Baptists and as an outspoken advocate for religious freedom and the
separation of church and state.
Dunn had a profound effect on me at two points in my life. The first time was the weekend of the new year in 2000. He and I were on a panel together at Renaissance Weekend in Hilton Head, and by chance I ran into him at a restaurant the next day. I told him that I was thinking of going to teach at Baylor, and he told me to do it. He was unambivalent and enthusiastic (and right). He believed in Texas Baptists.

Later, it was his theology that deeply affected me, and his argument that every person had access to truth-- holy truth-- without intercession. I wrote about this in the book I just finished, remembering him holding a Bible and saying "this is my creed!"

In my few brief encounters with him, I saw the wonderful and unusual combination of talents he possessed: the ability at once to be both gentle in spirit and strong of opinion.

It might be that the best we can hope for when we finish this life is to have made others better. Dunn did that for me, and many others as well.

James
M. Dunn, one of Baptists’ most well-known advocates for religious
liberty and separation of church and state, died July 4 a few weeks
after his 83rd birthday in Winston-Salem, N.C.
During his nearly two decades as executive director of the Baptist
Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, and for 12 years prior to that as
executive director of the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission,
Dunn’s colorful rhetoric and take-no-prisoners approach in defense of
liberty earned him the reverence and fury of Baptists across the
theological spectrum.
- See more at:
https://baptistnews.com/ministry/people/item/30246-james-dunn-robust-advocate-for-religious-liberty-dies-july-4#sthash.5BsctetJ.dpuf

James
M. Dunn, one of Baptists’ most well-known advocates for religious
liberty and separation of church and state, died July 4 a few weeks
after his 83rd birthday in Winston-Salem, N.C.
During his nearly two decades as executive director of the Baptist
Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, and for 12 years prior to that as
executive director of the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission,
Dunn’s colorful rhetoric and take-no-prisoners approach in defense of
liberty earned him the reverence and fury of Baptists across the
theological spectrum.
- See more at:
https://baptistnews.com/ministry/people/item/30246-james-dunn-robust-advocate-for-religious-liberty-dies-july-4#sthash.5BsctetJ.dpuf

James
M. Dunn, one of Baptists’ most well-known advocates for religious
liberty and separation of church and state, died July 4 a few weeks
after his 83rd birthday in Winston-Salem, N.C.
During his nearly two decades as executive director of the Baptist
Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, and for 12 years prior to that as
executive director of the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission,
Dunn’s colorful rhetoric and take-no-prisoners approach in defense of
liberty earned him the reverence and fury of Baptists across the
theological spectrum.
- See more at:
https://baptistnews.com/ministry/people/item/30246-james-dunn-robust-advocate-for-religious-liberty-dies-july-4#sthash.5BsctetJ.dpuf

James
M. Dunn, one of Baptists’ most well-known advocates for religious
liberty and separation of church and state, died July 4 a few weeks
after his 83rd birthday in Winston-Salem, N.C.
During his nearly two decades as executive director of the Baptist
Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, and for 12 years prior to that as
executive director of the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission,
Dunn’s colorful rhetoric and take-no-prisoners approach in defense of
liberty earned him the reverence and fury of Baptists across the
theological spectrum.
- See more at:
https://baptistnews.com/ministry/people/item/30246-james-dunn-robust-advocate-for-religious-liberty-dies-july-4#sthash.5BsctetJ.dpuf

James
M. Dunn, one of Baptists’ most well-known advocates for religious
liberty and separation of church and state, died July 4 a few weeks
after his 83rd birthday in Winston-Salem, N.C.
During his nearly two decades as executive director of the Baptist
Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, and for 12 years prior to that as
executive director of the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission,
Dunn’s colorful rhetoric and take-no-prisoners approach in defense of
liberty earned him the reverence and fury of Baptists across the
theological spectrum.
- See more at:
https://baptistnews.com/ministry/people/item/30246-james-dunn-robust-advocate-for-religious-liberty-dies-july-4#sthash.5BsctetJ.dpuf

James
M. Dunn, one of Baptists’ most well-known advocates for religious
liberty and separation of church and state, died July 4 a few weeks
after his 83rd birthday in Winston-Salem, N.C.
During his nearly two decades as executive director of the Baptist
Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, and for 12 years prior to that as
executive director of the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission,
Dunn’s colorful rhetoric and take-no-prisoners approach in defense of
liberty earned him the reverence and fury of Baptists across the
theological spectrum.
- See more at:
https://baptistnews.com/ministry/people/item/30246-james-dunn-robust-advocate-for-religious-liberty-dies-july-4#sthash.5BsctetJ.dpuf

Sunday, July 05, 2015

Sunday Reflection: Summertime

When I lived in Michigan, I lived near a Unitarian church that closed for the summer. That always seemed odd to me, since faith did not seem like a seasonal thing to me at that time. I was pretty dismissive of that policy.

On reflection, though, I am more understanding. I don't think it is for me-- I wouldn't want to go that long without a faith community-- but there is, in fact, a seasonal aspect to Congregational life. The liturgical calendar is one manifestation of that.

And I have to confess that I do treat summer differently. I don't take summer off from church, but I do take the opportunity to stay home some mornings, and (more often) visit other churches. I love the experience of walking in someplace where I am unknown and becoming a part of it. In the summer, many churches are less formal, and it is a better time to do this.

At Seventh and James in Waco, we had "Chattaqua" in the summer, which was a series of Sunday School classes on topics that ranged all over the place. I loved it, and learned a lot. It made summer different, and more interesting. In fact, this was the birthplace of the Trial of Jesus, some 14 years ago.

Saturday, July 04, 2015

Celebrate Freedom!

Sometime in the next few weeks, aides expect President Obama
to issue orders freeing dozens of federal prisoners locked up on
nonviolent drug offenses. With the stroke of his pen, he will probably
commute more sentences at one time than any president has in nearly half
a century.

The expansive use of his clemency power
is part of a broader effort by Mr. Obama to correct what he sees as the
excesses of the past, when politicians eager to be tough on crime threw
away the key even for minor criminals. With many Republicans and
Democrats now agreeing that the nation went too far, Mr. Obama holds the
power to unlock that prison door, especially for young African-American
and Hispanic men disproportionately affected.

But
even as he exercises authority more assertively than any of his modern
predecessors, Mr. Obama has only begun to tackle the problem he has
identified. In the next weeks, the total number of commutations for Mr.
Obama’s presidency may surpass 80, but more than 30,000 federal inmates
have come forward in response to his administration’s call for clemency
applications. A cumbersome review process has advanced only a small
fraction of them. And just a small fraction of those have reached the
president’s desk for a signature.

As some of you know, I have gotten a grant to start a major new project on this, which I will start working on next week. It's a one-year pop-up non-profit, so there are a lot of hyphens involved. And a little stress...

On Football….

Friday, July 03, 2015

Haiku Friday: Food of the 4th!

Hey! It's time for a great holiday: Independence Day. This is one of my favorites.

Like all great American holidays, it has classic food that will always be associated with mid-summer. Good stuff you can eat with your hands or cook on a grill-- a treat for all of the senses.

When I lived in Texas, I loved getting breakfast tacos from Rudy's for the morning of 4th of July. I'm not sure why; it's one of those personal traditions whose origins are lost in the mists of time (or something like that).

Now it is your turn! Just make it five syllables for the first line, seven for the second, five for the third, and make sure it is in Spanish! Wait, no, it doesn't have to be in Spanish, but it's ok if it is. I'll figure it out.

Thursday, July 02, 2015

Political Mayhem Thursday: The Next Culture War Might Not Be a War

In a column in the New York Times earlier this week, David Brooks took note of the reaction to the Supreme Court's ruling in favor of same-sex marriage among some social conservatives such as Robert P. George, who "argued that just as Lincoln persistently rejected the Dred Scott decision, so 'we must reject and resist an egregious act of judicial usurpation.'" I've heard similar reactions from many others in the Christian community.

Brooks has an interesting take on it all:

Social conservatives could be the people who help reweave the sinews of society. They already subscribe to a faith built on selfless love. They can serve as examples of commitment. They are equipped with a vocabulary to distinguish right from wrong, what dignifies and what demeans. They already, but in private, tithe to the poor and nurture the lonely.

The defining face of social conservatism could be this: Those are the people who go into underprivileged areas and form organizations to help nurture stable families. Those are the people who build community institutions in places where they are sparse. Those are the people who can help us think about how economic joblessness and spiritual poverty reinforce each other. Those are the people who converse with us about the transcendent in everyday life.

This culture war is more Albert Schweitzer and Dorothy Day than Jerry Falwell and Franklin Graham; more Salvation Army than Moral Majority. It’s doing purposefully in public what social conservatives already do in private.

Wednesday, July 01, 2015

USA! USA!

Yesterday, the United States beat Germany in the semifinals of the Women's World Cup, 2-0. Next up is the final on Sunday, which could be a rematch from 2011 with Japan, who won that final in a shootout.

This Women's World Cup has been more closely watched than previous versions all over the world as the sport has developed an international following despite a continuing bias against women's sports in some countries, including many where soccer is a huge sport.

For whatever reason, I find this kind of competition a lot easier to care about than, say, the British Premier League, which has a big following at the bar down the street from my school. Perhaps that's because of the national identities in play, or the rarity of it.